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Snow is a hot topic at Hudson Bay Mountain Resort

Snow is a hot topic at Hudson Bay Mountain Resort

Tue. Oct. 31/17

DOC POW

Ski history and heritage is alive and well in B.C. because many resorts are home to a thriving culture that encompasses the idea of going downhill at thrilling speeds.

What makes the ski culture at Smithers Hudson Bay Mountain Resort so unique is that its also home to an assortment of passionate people who make up this cabin colony, all of them incredible stewards of ski hospitality.

"I live up here pretty much the entire winter," says Bill Myers, a long-time Smithers resident. "I didn't even pick up skiing till I was 35 years old, but I'd say it's now become a big piece of my life, especially up here with my cabin."

The largest of Northern B.C. ski destinations, Hudson Bay Mountain is home to a collection of chairlifts, rope tows and legendary snow conditions. (Check out this video from a previous season.)

"My discovery of skiing, like a lot of people in Canada, came from the Greene family. It was Nancy's sister who taught me how to ski here at Hudson Bay, (my) kids in tow, who picked up the sport when they were eight and 10 years old," says Myers.

Because snow and weather reports for Hudson Bay Resort were often wrong, Myers wanted more accurate information and decided to take it to the next level by building some weather monitoring systems where he and his colleagues could start reporting the weather as they saw it.

Their interests over the years evolved until eventually a bunch of them came together to purchase a weather monitoring station. Now Myers, along with local realtor, Sandra Hinchcliffe and a few other cabin colony neighbours, report their weather and snow-monitoring findings at Table 100.

You can watch the snow accumulate on the daily snow table, getting the most accurate weather information to plan your ski days. It also feeds into other websites, including Hinchcliffe's with a stellar array of weather facts.

The results from the station are also reported to Weather Underground and the ski hill also uses the information.

For Myers, his powder nirvana is right here along Northern B.C.'s Yellowhead Highway.

"The snow around here is the finest powder, every day. Having skied here for years, I have never seen that crystal ice that you can see on the slopes sometimes closer to the coast," he says. "Instead, around here it's either skiing beautifully groomed of fluffy powder runs every day."

When you're up skiing at Hudson Bay this winter and want to learn more about Hudson Bay's weather, all you have to do is head into the lodge and ask to sit with the guys from Table 100.

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Peaks soar above. Snow piles up above car rooflines, and terrain for backcountry touring stretches seemingly endlessly. Here, there are no motors running, no crowds, no distractions. Just you, your friends and the bowls, ridges and glades to play in.

After witnessing and shooting one of the most stunning sunrises of my life from the peak of Hudson Bay Mountain, I was intrigued by the small mountain community I saw on my way up. It turns out there are a handful of people who live on the mountain and whole-heartedly embrace this place.

This leg of our SkiNorthBC expedition brought us to a little place called Smithers, located in northwestern B.C., halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Smithers has a small but mighty population of just more than 5,400.